Chapters Chapter 1: Optimistic
The whirring of the sewing machine echoed through the Carousel Boutique. The unicorn was heavily focused on her work, sewing together more and more dresses and designs. With a strip of light blue fabric tied just above her eyes, her determination was apparent. Her teeth were gritted and her eyes were fixed as she moved the fabric into the machine. Pulling the finished product out from the machine, the purple maned pony reveled the piece of clothing to herself.
“Well, it’s certainly not the greatest thing I’ve ever put together, but I am quite pleased with the result,” she spoke aloud, using her magic to levitate the dress, “I’m certain that it will look simply smashing on stage. Now, I still have quite a few to do.”
With her sewing machine off, a faint clashing and gnawing noise caused her ear to twitch. Looking at the sewing machine, what she thought was the source of the noise, she saw that it was turned off and completely motionless.
The unicorn sighed as she resumed her work, “You’ve been overworking yourself so much, that you’re losing it, Rarity.” Setting the dress on one of the ponyquins around her sewing room, Rarity heard a knocking at the front door. “Now, who can that be? I remember asking the girls to give me the day to work.”
Trotting down the staircase, Rarity heard the noise again. This time, it sounded more rabid and much louder than before. She paused mid-trot to listen for it. However, when she stopped to listen, it disappeared again.
“It’s just your imagination, dear,” the unicorn told herself, placing a hoof over her beating heart. Taking a few deep breaths, she returned to her calm and collected demeanor.
Resuming her trot down the staircase, Rarity arrived at the door. She peeked through the hole of the door. On the other end, she spied a brown stallion with a spiky dark brown mane. On his body, there was a tie around his neck and a long brown coat that covered his entire back and tail. Surprised and confused to have any company, the white mare opened the door to the unknown stallion. “Hello?” she greeted the pony.
The stallion’s face beamed a smile to Rarity, “Ah, yes, hello, my name is Time Turner,” the pony spoke, taking out a piece of folded leather from his coat. He opened the leather to reveal a small card, “I was sent here from Manehattan from a very important individual to take a look at your clothing line.”
Upon hearing what the stallion said, Rarity happily squealed with joy, “Oh, my this is just remarkable! I can’t believe this is happening!”
The brown pony folded up the piece of leather, “Indeed it is, may I come in?”
“Oh, of course! But first, I must see who in Manehattan is wishing take a look at my work! It would be on your card, would it not, Mr. Time Turner?” Rarity asked as she reached for the folded piece of leather that the brown pony was about to put away.
Rarity’s motion toward him caught the stallion off guard, causing the unicorn to take the leather holder from him. “No, wait! Don’t open that!”
As the mare opened the folded piece of leather, the card she had just saw was gone. Instead, she only saw a blank piece of paper. The paper didn’t stay blank for long, for as Rarity held it in her hooves, a message appeared on the paper, reading: ‘this stallion before me is certainly strange.” Upon seeing what she was thinking appearing on the paper, Rarity dropped the leather holder immediately on the floor, letting out a shocked sound.
Pointing to it with one of her hooves, Rarity asked, “Wh-What in Equestria is that?”
Picking it up with his hoof, the brown stallion spoke, “It’s a little nifty device called psychic paper. When used by one who is untrained, it can display what one is thinking.” Opening it up again, the brown pony showed the card within to Rarity, this time of it showing an identification of Time Turner, the card read ‘Dr. James Alistair Bowman’ next to a photograph of a creature Rarity had never seen before, “But when used by one who knows what they are doing, it’s quite a helpful tool. Saves quite a bit of trouble.” The stallion closed up the leather container and put it back in his brown coat, “And I read what it said on there, I’m not that strange!”
The unicorn was still in a state of shock, “Just….who are you? Are you not with a fashion designer or somepony of that nature?”
“Sorry to lie to you about that, but I am not. For that matter, I’ve never been one for fashion myself. Just a nice tie around my neck, a coat of some sort, and maybe a hat or scarf and I’m set for traveling the stars,” the stallion mused as he trotted through the front door and into the Carousel Boutique.
“Travel the stars? Just who are you?” Rarity repeated with a louder and impatient tone, demanding an answer.
“Simply put,” the stallion began to reply, looking round the main room of the shop as if he was searching for something, “I’m the Doctor, and I’m going to need your help.”
Closing the front door, Rarity trotted up to the pony who just invited himself in, “Help, what is it that you need help with? And who said you can enter my shop?” The mare’s voice was filled with annoyance at the brown stallion.
Without glancing her way, the Doctor responded, “Well, you did invite me in, did you not?”
“But those were under false pretenses!” Rarity quickly retorted.
A small smirk appeared on the stallion’s face, “And yet, here I am.” He continued his scanning of the interior of the building.
Sighing, Rarity gave up arguing that topic, “Fine, whatever. But what about this me helping you business?”
The Doctor ignored her statement. He started moving toward one of the corners of the main room.
“Hey! Answer me when I’m talking to you!” Rarity demanded.
The stallion started examining every little thing about the room before him. He picked up a vase to examine it before placing it back, looked underneath the sofa and the cushions, even lifting up Rarity’s cat, Opal, from her cat cushion as if he was searching for something.
The unicorn was not happy with the Doctor’s behavior, “Okay, Mr. Time Turner, or Doctor whoever-you-are! Just what are you doing?”
Finally turning around to look at Rarity, the Doctor answered, “Clues.” He then turned back around, this time to a wall. He sniffed at the wall for a few moments before exclaiming, “Ah ha!”
Rarity simply raised an eyebrow at his bizarre antics. She almost wanted to ask but felt it would be rude to do so.
The Doctor grabbed a fire iron from the nearby fireplace. With in his hooves, he began to hit the wall with it, opening it up. Rarity shouted in protest against the brown pony’s actions.
“What in the name of Celestia and Luna are you doing, you madpony? You barge into my home and shop and you start to attack my wall, what is wrong with you?” Rarity shouted as she used her magic to levitate the fire iron out of the stallion’s grasp.
The removal of he fire iron didn’t stop the Doctor, “Believe me, I’m the least of your worries, compared to this.” The Doctor used his hooves to remove a part of the wall.
As he tore a bit of it down, he revealed a metallic creature the size of the front part of a pony’s limb. It was at that moment Rarity heard a familiar sharp clashing and gnawing noise. This time, she saw where it was coming from.
Chapter 2: I Think I Smell A Rat
Chapter 2: I Think I Smell A Rat
“Ju-Ju-Just what is that….thing?!” Rarity’s voice was full of terror at the sight of the creature that was found within her walls.
“This little pest is called a Cybermat. A creature used by the Cyberman for a number of reasons. Why they are here on your planet, I haven’t the foggiest idea,” the Doctor explained, taking out a cylindrical device from his coat.
“And what is that?!” the unicorn’s voice was still stressed and fearful.
Activiating the device, the Doctor scanned the Cybermat, “It’s a sonic screwdriver. This little beauty will deactivate this little pest and I’ll be on my wa-“ The brown stallion paused mid-sentence, “Now this is strange….”
Finally gaining the courage to trot forward, Rarity asked, “What’s so strange?” The tone of her voice had become more calm and collected.
“This Cybermat is already deactivated. How is that possible?” the Doctor began to rub his chin with his hoof holding the sonic screwdriver.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t even know how that….thing entered my home,” Rarity explained.
The Doctor picked up the deactivated Cybermat and examined it closely, “Cybermats, as I previously stated, are used by Cybermen to theives, carriers, and even as weapons. They are similar to that of mice or rats on most planets….”
“THAT THING IS A RODENT?!” Rarity shouted as she jumped up to stand on her sofa, “Is my shop infested? This is absolutely horrific! Just think of how bad this could be for my business!”
Continuing his explanation, the Doctor reassured Rarity, “Fear not, this thing is harmless now, nothing more than a shell. Once deactivated, they can’t do anything, particularly a model this old….how long have you had your shop here, miss?”
Rarity stepped down from onto of the sofa. Taking a calming breath, she answered, “I moved to this shop about five years ago when I first moved to Ponyville. And you can call me by my name, Rarity.”
The Doctor looked up and smiled, “Rarity, a truly unique and beautiful name.” He then continued his observation, “Five years, you say? That makes some sense but still puzzles me. This model is ages old.”
“I don’t understand, why are they even here on Equestria? And who are these Cybermen you speak of?” Rarity asked.
Stopping in his examination of the silver Cybermat, the Doctor explained, “Cybermen are a race of aliens who are very spiteful and quite nasty. They have two goals: upgrade and eliminate. They go from one planet to the next, conquering worlds, bring civilizations to their knees, and increase their numbers. To them, survival is all that matters, and that means finding other life forms and converting them into Cybermen themselves. Those who resisted were ‘deleted’, as they would say.”
“What about their individuality? Would they not still have that after becoming a Cyberman….or whatever they would become?” the unicorn asked.
The Doctor shook his head, “No. Once an individual is converted into a Cyberman, they lost not only their individuality, but also their emotions. They were seen as a weakness.” Ending his explanation, the Doctor continued scanning the deactivated Cybermat.
Rarity covered her mouth in horror and surprise of the beings she had just learned about, “Goodness….but that still doesn’t answer why that Cybermat is here.”
“Sure, it does,” the Doctor looked back up to Rarity, “It means the Cybermen are planning an invasion of Equestria.”
Chapter 3: Tiny Little Robots
Chapter 3: Tiny Little Robots
Rarity’s face grew pale, “Those….those things….invading Equestria?” The unicorn was starting to shake uncontrollably in fear.
The Doctor shook his head, “Yes, Cybermats often act as an infantry unit for the Cybermen, paving the way for their masters. Gathering information, assessing the planet, figuring out where to strike and how.”
Panicking, Rarity grabbed onto the Doctor and started to shake him, “This is absolutely the worst possible thing! What are we going to do, Doctor? What are we going to do?”
“Well, the good ne-“ the brown pony was cut off.
“I can’t turn into some metal creature with no freewill!” she exclaimed excitedly. Her voice was stressed as she continued to shake the Doctor.
Trying to talk again, the Doctor was interrupted yet again, “Miss Rarity, there is some good news abo-“
“And don’t get me started on being covered in horn to hoof in silver! It’s such a hard color to work with in fashion! It’s a fate worse than death!” the unicorn shouted, almost sounding like tears were about to form in her eyes.
“Rarity!” the Doctor finally got her attention, “I have good news for you then. The Cybermats have no connection to the Cybermen now.”
“I beg your pardon?” the unicorn returned to her classy and sophisticated demeanor, almost as if she had not had an episode merely moments ago.
The Doctor picked up the Cybermat, “Well, you are correct about being infested with Cybermats in your home, however, these little pests are completely inactive and have been for years. Maybe twitching every so often, but nothing hazardous to any individual.“
Rarity gave a quizzical expression, “I don’t understand, how is this possible? You said it yourself that these….vermin are supposed to help start some sort of offensive on Equestria. Why are they so lifeless now? Did they run out of power?”
“Unlikely,” the Doctor started to scan the Cybermat again, “my readings indicate that they were….deactivated by gold….”
“How do you deactivate them with gold? That seems….silly,” Rarity spoke with a touch of sass, “Besides, gold is supposed to be used in jewelry and fashion.”
“Oi! Gold has far more uses than you could ever know! Here, gold is the Cybermen, or in this case, the Cybermats, main weakness,” the Doctor stated, holding up to the Cybermat to the light, examining it’s respiratory system, “It literally chokes them.”
The unicorn paused for a moment to thing, “Wait, this is because of gold’s non-corrodible nature, right?”
The Doctor’s face beamed at Rarity’s answer, “That’s exactly right! Brilliant!”
Flashing a smile and a flip of her mane, Rarity bragged, “Well, being a fashionista, of course I would know about the materials I use.”
“But it’s a bit odd, this really is an old model of Cybermat and it didn’t asphyxiate as most would. It seems it just came in contact with the gold….but how?” the Doctor asked, placing the Cybermat back on the ground.
The white mare simply shrugged, unable to answer.
“Rarity, you said you have used gold in your shop before, yes?” the Doctor asked, looking closely at the unicorn.
Taken a bit back, the unicorn nervously answered, “Well, yes, of course…..I use it in my fashions.”
The Doctor inched forward slightly, waiting or more of the answer, “Yes, yes, but what else?”
Rarity was having a bit of trouble answering, “I….uh….use it in a number of different things, such as with threads, on the wallpaper designs, in jewelry of course….”
“Wait, did you say on the wallpaper?” the Doctor raised an eyebrow.
“Well, yes. It’s to help bring out the color in the dresses, and it brightens the room up,” Rarity explained.
The Doctor clapped his hooves together and smiled as he trotted around the unicorn and began to ramble, “Oh, of course! How could I be so daft! It was so simple, in front of my eyes the whole time! With gold in the wallpaper, it simply deactivates the Cybermats altogether. Oh Rarity, you’re so bloody brilliant!” The brown pony grabbed on to the unicorn’s head and kissed her forehead.
“Doctor, what are you talking about?” Rarity was slightly flustered by the Doctor’s actions.
“Well, Rarity, thanks to the extravagant tastes in your decorating, you have inadvertently just saved all of Equestira from an alien invasion by silver robots.”
Chapter 4: Spaceman
“Is this the last of them?” the white unicorn asked as she levitated a number of lifeless Cybermats into a cardboard box.
The Doctor was scanning one of the Cybermats before throwing it back into the box, “My sonic screwdriver is saying that all of the little pests are out of your lovely home, Rarity.”
Rarity breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank Celestia. I can’t imagine how things would have turned out if you hadn’t shown up here, Mr. Doctor.”
“Just ‘the Doctor’ is fine.”
“Either way, if those metal rodents had come back to life and paved the way for some sort of invasion….well, I rather not imagine such an endeavor happening here,” Rarity mused as she looked around the main room of her home.
The Doctor also looked around the room, “Well, thanks to you, the Cybermen won’t be visiting your planet anytime in the future.”
Rarity smiled, “So that means we’re safe here, right?”
“Safe? No, of course you’re not safe! There’s about a billion other things out there floating in the universe just waiting to attack your planet! But, of course, if you want to pretend you’re safe so you can sleep peacefully at night, than okay, you’re safe,” the Doctor dictated as he closed the box flaps up and stretched a piece of tape over it.
The words stunned and shocked the purple-maned mare, which reflected with her horrified expression.
Taking a look at Rarity’s reaction to what he said, the Doctor continued, “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have been so blunt about that?”
“Just where do you get off being so high and mighty?” Rarity’s voice was annoyed as well as stern, “Are we all just inferior to you because you fly around the stars being so smug and playing by your own rules?”
“Whoa, I never said I was all high and mighty or anything of the sort,” the Doctor replied. He began pushing the box outside of the front door and onto the front porch of Rarity’s house.
The unicorn was still irritated with the stallion as she followed him out, “But it seems like you’re acting like some sort of pony that seems to know anything and everything and….is that a phone box on my front porch?”
Before the Doctor and Rarity was a blue phone box, barely covered by the awning of the porch. The brown pony continued pushing the box up to the door of the phone box, causing it to open. “Yes and no,” the Doctor answered, “yes it’s on your porch and no it’s not a phone box. Well, not in the traditional sense.”
As he disappeared past the doors with the box, Rarity followed him through the doors and into the huge room. “What in Equestria….”
Pushing the box next to a staircase, the brown pony trotted up the stairs and to a hexagonal panel, “It’s called the TARDIS. Go on, say it.”
Taking her time, Rarity did just that, “It’s bigger….on the inside….”
Smiling, the Doctor pulled a few levers and pressed a few buttons, “I love it when they say that. Now then, shall we away?”
Making her way up to the platform, Rarity was puzzled, “Away? Away to where?”
“Well, to travel amongst the stars and through time, of course!” the Doctor typed on the keyboard on the panel. He then quickly trotted to another part of the hexagon-shaped control panel and continued with his fiddling of the mechanics.
Rarity was dumbfounded. After a few moments of silence between them, she finally replied was a raised tone of gravitation in her voice, “Wait, wait. You expect me to go with you in this weird box of yours, you….you….spacepony?!”
“Oi! Spacepony? At least call me a ‘spaceman’ and give me some dignity! Donna certainly did!” the Doctor gave a glare to the unicorn.
“Well, whatever! You just expect me to drop everything I have here and go with you?”
The Doctor smirked again, “Why not? I can show you all the corners of the space and time and get you back here five minutes ago!”
Rarity looked off to the side and asked another question. This time, her tone was more of timid, “But why me? I’m just a fashionista that’s still struggling to make a name for herself.”
“Nonsense! You have inadvertently prevented an invasion of Cybermen on Equestria! If that isn’t significant, I don’t know what to say to you, my dear!” the Doctor enthusiastically stated.
“Huh….I guess I never thought of it like that,” Rarity placed a hoof under her chin and than shrugged.
The Doctor smiled even bigger, “Fantastic! Now then, shall we travel to London on Earth back on January 30, 1969? There are four remarkable lads playing their hearts out on top of a building and you just have to see them.”
With his hoof making a swift strike of one of the buttons, the Doctor caused the TARDIS to come alive and the cause the machinery to move. Outside of the TARDIS on the porch, the box began to disappear.
END